IT'S POPULAR, IT'S SENSIBLE, AND IT'S LEGAL

During July of this year, the Gallup Organization, Inc., conducted a national sampling to determine Americans' attitudes toward parental choice in education. The findings of this poll, which were reported at a briefing for Congress in the U.S. Capitol in September, include the following:

1. Seventy percent of Americans in this sample believed that the government should allot a certain amount of money to parents to send their children to the public, private or parochial school of their choice.

2. Sixty-one percent of Americans sampled stated that some of the tax money now given to public schools should be given to parents so that they could send their children to the school of their choice.

3. ~If the government were to provide funding, almost 60 percent of Americans indicated that funds should be provided to all families regardless of their income.

4. When presented with the hypothesis that the Supreme Court allowed state or federal governments to provide some financial support to parents who choose religious-affiliated schools, 64 percent favored such funding.

5. A majority of those sampled (54 percent) believed that they have sufficient knowledge about the schools in their communities to make the best choice for their children's education. This figure rises to 60 percent for parents with school-age children.

6. Of those sampled, 64 percent gave Catholic schools in the nation grades of A or B while only 24 percent of the sample gave those same grades to public schools.

These numbers indicate that a growing number of Americans view choice in education as an issue worth further investigation. Still, opponents of the movement toward choice in education and educational vouchers often base their opposition on the issues of accountability or educational standards, or the lack of such accountability and standards as perceived to be the case in private and parochial schools, and on the division of church and state.

Harry C. Weinberg, the superintendent of the San Diego County Office of Education, recently expressed his views on the issue of choice in education. In the article "For School Choice, Let's Follow the F.A.A.," published in Education Week (February 12, 1992), Weinberg stated that if "private schools receive public money, it's only fair to demand a common regulatory body for both public and private schools."

He then went on to list areas of regulation for which public and private schools should meet set standards. ~Included in this list are the following: certification of teachers, written and viewable curricula, safety standards, accountability, service for the disabled, nondiscrimination, governance and access.

As an educator and a parent of a child in a parochial elementary school, I believe that these criteria certainly must be expected by parents of children in both public and private schools. For parents and teachers to demand less is a gross disservice to our children. All parents not just parents of private and parochial school students should be aware of the curriculum used in their children's school and of the educational background of their children's teachers. And records of school achievement, as well as graduation and dropout rates, should be available for inspection and comparison.

Both private and public schools should be governed by boards with input from parents, teachers and students. Similarly, all children deserve to be taught in buildings that meet fire and earthquake safety standards.

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Funding

It is true that private schools are at times unable to meet the demands of all students due to lack of funding; handicapped or learning disabled students, for example, can often find a richer learning environment in a nearby public school. However, with governmentally-funded vouchers, additional revenue could be made available to support these vital programs in private schools.

~ I contend that choice in education cannot be narrowly defined as an issue which hinges on "religious preference" and be summarily dismissed. First of all, not all private schools are religiously affiliated even though all private schools in Cape Girardeau have such religious affilliations. Secondly, many constitutional authorities are convinced that carefully constructed legislation that provides direct support for parents rather than institutions would be found constitutional. Finally, parents who send their children to parochial schools should be knowledgeable about the doctrine embraced and taught at these institutions in order to make an informed choice about their children's education.

~ I choose to view the issue of choice in education as an opportunity to scrutinize existing educational structures and investigate viable alternatives. When parents have to make a choice about where to send their children to school, they invest themselves in the decision. This type of investment on the part of parents is essential for any educational institution to be successful. Choice in education fosters such involvement.

Nancy Baker is coordinator of the Writing Program at Southeast Missouri State University. She is a former president of the St. Mary's school board.